A Stone Heart
by Ambercat999
Summary: What if the legend forgot one of the characters in the story, what if the Monkey King had a lover whom was stolen from him by the Jade Warlord? Xiu Ya Chen is the Monkey King's other half but when she is ripped from him by a greedy and jealous warlord she must go through hell and back to return to her lovers side. Monkey King/OC sorry for the bad summary.
1. A Life No One Could Touch

Chapter 1: A Life No One Could Touch

Many know of the Monkey King and how his mischievous ways were the sole reason for the Jade Warlords migraine however only a select few know about his other half, his chickadee. Her name was Xiu Ya Chen and she was his complete opposite, while he took pleasure in goofing off and causing trouble she spent her days quietly tending to her garden and helping others. She lived above a small village near the bottom of Five Elements Mountain and was well loved by its residents; they would often go to her when they were injured or sick for she was a skilled healer and a kind soul.

For many years she lived peacefully in her small cottage content to lead a simplistic life. However that all changed when a stranger stumbled into town, he had the features of the monkey and carried a golden bo staff with him, his arrival sent a wave of fear through the village; many wondered if he had been sent by some lord to wipe out their small village so that he may claim it as his own. Luckily he soon proved that while he may seem appear intimidating he had the attitude of child and had come across their humble town by pure luck as her wondered the land. The children took to him instantly and spent many hours following him around and asking him to tell them stories and he was always more than happy to indulge their inquisitive nature. He would spin wild tales of faraway lands and terrible beasts but he would also tell them of the many times he had defeated the Jade Army, the idea that one man could best an army especially the _Jade_ Army astounded the children and they could often be found acting out the stories he told them while they did their chores.

He never gave the villagers a name to address him by and so they simply stuck to calling him traveler, each night a different family would allow him to stay in their home and soon he became a regular site among the busy town market or the surrounding fields and forest. The stranger had been in the town for a full week before he even met Xiu Ya Chen, he had been watching some of the boys reenact one of his stories by the river when one of the boys slipped and banged his head on a rock. The traveler instantly leapt into action and grabbed the boy quickly spiriting him back to the village where he searched for the healer it wasn't long before someone noticed the man's frantic expression and realized that he had a small injured boy in his arms. They pointed him to the hill that Xiu's hut sat upon, they said that he would find a hut at the top of the hill and that the person who lived there would be able to help the injured youth.

With no time to waste the traveler carried the boy up the mountain, at the very top nestled into the trees and shrubbery of the forest was a small hut with a thin wisp of smoke drifting from inside. He hurried up to the door and knocked careful not to jostle the boy in his arms too much, seconds later the quiet footsteps could be heard approaching the front of the hut and the door opened to reveal a young woman in a simple brown and tan kimono. She seemed as surprised to see someone from beyond the village outside her home but quickly brushed the shock aside when she noticed what, or _who_ he carrying.

"Oh dear, would you please lay the boy down over here that looks like a rather nasty bump he has on his head."

Her voice was soft but authoritative as she instructed the stranger to lay the boy down and prop his feet up on a small pile of pillows that were at the bottom of the bed. While he focused on making sure the boy was comfortable Xiu went over to a pot of water she had boiled earlier that day, scooping some into a small bowl she brought it back to the bedside and proceeded to clean the wound on the boys temple. As the blood washed away it became apparent that while the cut was rather nasty and somewhat deep it was in no way life threatening and she soon came to the conclusion that he would just need a few stiches to make sure the cut would heal properly. She grabbed a small box from the nearby table and from it she pulled out a small needle and a twine of thread.

"I'm going to have to stich the skin together; I'll need you to hold his shoulders down so that he doesn't jerk too much."

The traveler nodded and moved into a position where he could easily keep the boy from squirming around injuring himself further. Luckily the wound was relatively small and the whole thing was over in a matter of minutes, she then swapped the needle and thread for a small jar of green paste that she spread over the cut before bandaging. Finally she allowed the youth to sit up and carefully helped him to his feet before kneeling down so that she could be eye to eye with him.

"There you go, all better. Now what where you doing that you ended up with such a nasty cut on your head?"

The young boy looked at the healer sheepishly, "Me and the some other boys were acting out the story that the traveler told us today down near the river, I slipped and accidently hit my head on one of the rocks Miss Xiu."

She nodded, it wasn't the first time one of the village boys had showed up at her hut with a game related injury and it certainly wouldn't be the last, however each time one of them got hurt she always gave them the same lecture in hopes that one day her words of wisdom would stick in their young minds.

"I know you boys like to play and that it's no fun when adults tell you that you can't do things but you must be more careful. Don't play so close to the river, you could have been seriously injured or even knocked unconscious and swept away by the currents. I'm not asking you to stop playing there all together just that when you do you are more cautious about what you do."

She waited until he nodded his head before shooing him out of her hut, he would have to come back in a few days to get the stiches out but other than that he would be fine so long as he kept the wound clean.

As the boys small head disappeared down the hill she finally turned back to face the stranger who had brought her latest patient to her, she studied his face as he studied hers and both came to the conclusion that the other was quite attractive. He had a handsome face and his eyes seemed to have a permanent twinkle in them as if he was ready to start laughing at any moment, his body was muscular from many years of kung fu but at the same time he always appeared to be on his toes and was obviously rather agile. In contrast she was had a petite figure that made her seem extremely fragile, her skin was pale and her face was free of any blemishes. Her eyes were a pale green and her hair a beautiful honey brown color that fell in silky waves down to her shoulder blades. She was obviously used to the strains of a hard day's work and yet her hand still seemed be as soft and delicate as any well trained geisha that you could find in the bigger towns.

They continued to study each other for some time before Xiu realized how rude she was being, upon realizing her social blunder her cheeks turned an endearing shade of pink before she offered her guest a quick bow.

"It is a pleasure to meet you I am Xiu Ya Chen, welcome to my humble abode. May I inquire as to what I should address you by kind sir?"

The traveler was stunned by the sudden change in formality. Not an hour before she had been ordering him around with little care of who he was, it struck him as funny how this young woman could go from being such a powerful and commanding person to being the quiet little bird currently standing before him and he couldn't help but laugh.

However if soon became apparent that Xiu didn't understand the humor behind her previously issued question and felt rather affronted, he was laughing at her! She didn't even know what to do, no one in the village had ever laughed at her unless she made a joke or did something silly to amuse the children, as she contemplated what to do she became more and more distressed until finally the man in front of her answered her questing effectively cutting the flood of questions and insecurities that were running rampant through her mind off.

"I have no name but many titles, the villagers here call me traveler." She nodded; it made sense that the title bestowed upon him by her neighbors was simply what he was. Hey were simple people like her and had little use for imagination once they had become adults, it was something that was mostly used to entertain the younger children and was otherwise considered useless.

"I was surprised when the villager told me to take the boy to the hut at the top of this hill. I didn't even know that there was someone living up here until today. Why have I not seen you down in the market or around the village?"

"I'm afraid I don't have much use for going down into the village, I grow most of what I need right here in my garden and what I can't grow I can find easily enough in the woods. I am a rather quite person and don't care for the crowded streets of the village nor the amount of noise it generates, even such a small community makes such a racket when they are all out buying that it makes my ears want to bleed."

She turned red at her last statement realizing that she probably sounded a bit crazy and even a little stuck, she was about to explain what she had meant when he nodded to her showing that he understood her meaning. Seeing as how the traveler didn't seem to plan on leaving soon she ushered him over to her table and served him a cup of tea before sitting down herself.

"So Mister Traveler what brings you here, our village does not get many visitors."

"I am simply a wanderer looking for new adventures and opportunities where ever I go. I am also on the run from the Jade Army," looking up he noticed that Xiu had a rather alarmed expression on her face and quickly rushed to placate her fears, "it seems that while I goofed around I may have angered the Jade Warlord. But do not worry he will not be able to follow me here, I covered my tracks well and I only found this village by chance. Your friends and family are safe I promise."

Xiu and the traveler made eye contact and she could tell he wasn't lying, if their village was attacked it would mean that the warlord had someone already in the village who told him where to go.

"How long do you plan on staying here?"

"I am not sure, I had not made any sort of plans, I will leave when I no longer feel comfortable here." The healer and the traveler ended up spending the entire day talking and as he prepared to head back down to the village he promised her he would come to visit again.

The traveler ended up staying for well over two months before finally moving on and in that time he and the healer known as Xiu became extremely close in fact they became lovers. She was just what he needed to balance out his wild spirit calming him down and preventing him from going too far when he pulled pranks on the villagers and children and in return he brought her out of her shell getting her to travel into the market place with him and introducing her to some of the villagers he had become friends with. Alas even though the two of them were madly in love he could not help his free spirit and before long he felt the urge to travel to see new places.

At first he begged her to travel with him, he painted wonderful pictures of romantic endeavors and exciting things the two could do together if she agreed to travel the world with him but unfortunately she did not have the nomadic heart he did. She was perfectly happy to live in her small hut and continue to do the same things she had been doing for years and so with eyes full of unshed tears she bid him farewell as he traveled off to his next destination. He promised her that he would come back one day and in turn she promised to wait for him, just as he was about to leave to reached up and plucked a hair from his head, "keep this with you and I will always be able to find you."

She nodded to him unable to speak for fear of breaking down into hysterics. And after sharing one final kiss with her he went on his way.

Years passed and she grew older but she never once lost faith that her lover would one day return for her, the villagers were not so optimistic. As the years stretched on all of the children grew up and moved away to new places and soon they spread the word of the beautiful healer on the hill still without a man to call husband. Many men came from all over to catch a glimpse of this supposed beauty and when they saw her each one tried to woo her into marrying them however each was politely turned away.

"I'm sorry but I already have a lover," she would say, "please turn your affections to another."

And so each left, telling her story in each town they visited. And so the word spread until it reached the ears of the Jade Warlord himself, he was intrigued by her story and traveled down from the Five Elements Mountain to see for himself what sort of woman had captured so many hearts. When he finally arrived at her small village he was greeted by the villagers as if he were royalty, they knew who he was and they begged him to take the healer as his wife. They all loved her very much and were afraid that the traveler that she had fallen in love with so many years ago would never come back and she would be left alone until the day she died.

He promised them that if he found her agreeable he would take her as his bride and sure enough as soon as he laid eyes on her he knew he had to make her his. He approached her while she was tending her garden.

"Do you know who I am?"

"I am sorry sir I do not; may I inquire as to your name?"

"I am the Jade War Lord, commander of the Jade Emperors army. I have traveled from high atop Five Elements Mountain to see the woman so many men have fallen for. You are truly as beautiful as they say and so I have decided to take you as my wife."

The lord's straight forwardness caught Xiu off guard and it took her a second to process what she had just heard. He was in charge of the Jade army and he wanted _her_ for a wife, she tried to think of a way to get out of the arrangement but could not. He was a man who had a great deal of power and he didn't need her consent to take her for his wife and so she nodded rather dejectedly.

"As you wish my lord, I shall do my best to be a worthy companion to someone of your high status."

Pleased that she gave in so quickly the Warlord told her to pack any belongings she required and to say her goodbyes for they would be leaving on the morrow to return to his home atop the mountain. There were many tears shed as she bade the villager's goodbye, she didn't know if she would ever see them again and the thought of leaving home terrified her. She only took one bag with her for he had declared that he would buy her an entirely new wardrobe when they were back at the palace and that she should only bring the things that held memories. And so she took a bag and filled it with mementos from her late parents, gifts from the many villagers who she had helped over the years, and finally at the very top of the bag she placed a small but intricately carved wooden box that help the single strand of hair her lover had given her. He had said that so long as she had it that he would be able to find her and she was ever hopeful that he would come and spirit her away before she was forced to merry.

And that's chapter one, for writing this at 2am in the morning I'm pretty proud of it. Please review so that I can get a feel for if I should change or revise anything. Thanks for reading!  
-Ambercat999


	2. Wake Me Up

Chapter 2: Wake Me Up

Jason woke up wondering how he wasn't dead. The last thing he could remember was Hop getting shot and the staff dragging him off the roof, before he could begin to ponder how an inanimate metal rod could _drag_ him anywhere he realized that he was laying on something other than concrete. At first he thought he was in the hospital, that someone had called the cops and he had been saved from his untimely death however he soon came to the conclusion that whatever he was laying on was too hard to be a hospital bed and that he had no clue where he was now.

Upon opening his eyes Jason found himself in a small hut, he sat up and realized that someone had changed him out of his tee-shirt and jeans and put him into a set of robes similar to the ones he would see in his kung-fu movies. He looked around and for the first time noticed that he was not the only one in the hut, an older woman and two small children of oriental descent were also there and upon realizing he was awake the woman approached him with a cup of tea. She held the cup out and started speaking Chinese and Jason quickly started to leave the hut, he didn't understand what she was saying and right now all he wanted to do was go home and pretend the entire day had been a bad dream. Unfortunately instead of finding himself in some sketchy or backwater part of Boston the green hills and valleys of what appeared to be China greeted him instead. Looking around it appeared he was in a small farming village that was located in the middle of nowhere as far as he could tell. He tried to get help from one of the locals but it would seem that none of them could speak English, the villager was trying to tell him something and kept motioning to somewhere behind him however Jason soon became distracted by what appeared to be a group of soldiers approaching the village on horseback.

Xiu awoke to the Jade Warlord pacing in front of her cage; she had avoided his attempts at marriage for many years coming up with all sorts of excuses as to why they should wait all the while hoping that her former lover would come for her. At first he had seemed more than willing to accommodate her needs but as time passed he became more and more irritated with her rejections to the point she was afraid that he would force her into marriage. She began to avoid him and would often take refuge in the Jade Emperors garden, it was there the she met the almighty immortal and as he frequented the gardens more often they soon began to form a friendship. She eventually told him of her problems and he took pity on her, he issued an order that she would not be forced to marry anyone until she was ready to and that if anyone should try to force her hand in marriage they would be greatly punished. The Warlord was outraged at the decree but could do nothing and so continued his attempts to win her favor. However she continuously rejected them and after a while he started to make fewer and fewer attempts, Xiu thought that he was giving up but alas she was wrong. It would seem that a someone had started to harass the Jade army and no matter how many of the Warlords most skilled men were sent after this new irritation none were able to best him, the lord was so enraged that he devoted all of his time to this new man's capture and so was neglecting to chase after her.

It wasn't until the Peach Banquet that she discovered the stranger harassing the Jade Army was her former love. She had been invited to the banquet by the Emperor so that she could become an immortal for he had grown very fond of her company and looked upon her as a great friend and councilor. Her lover crashed into the party and she had felt her heart burst with joy, when the Emperor gave him the title of Monkey King she was overwhelmed with relief, her lover would be safe form the Jade Warlord and they would be free to marry at last. Unfortunately the opportunity never arose, when the Emperor left the Jade Warlord in charge he immediately challenged the Monkey King to a dual and Xiu could only watch as her love was tricked and turned to stone after casting his staff off to some distant land. After that she was inconsolable and the Jade Warlord soon became irritated with her cries, because he turned her into a Chickadee claiming that since she would not become his bride he would force her to be his song bird instead.

And so for many years Xiu had spent her days sitting in a cage forced to keep the Warlord company as he ruled the lands with an iron fist, until one day something changed. That particular morning found the Warlord and herself in the throne room, he was starting on that day's work when one of his lackeys burst through the main doors. It would seem a strange young man had been spotted carrying what seemed to be the staff of the Monkey King himself, at once Xiu's head shot up and she stared at the soldier in front her unable to believe what he had just said. If what he said was true then the seeker of the staff had come and there was a chance that he could save her Monkey King from his stone prison. Unfortunately she wasn't the only one who realized what this new arrival could mean and judging by the Warlords face he intended to stop the seeker before he even had a chance.

"Take a group of men and find this _boy_, kill him and take the staff. And take Xiu with you, I want my little song bird to be reminded of how hapless her situation is."

A few days later found her trapped in a cage attached to a soldiers horse as they made their way from town to town searching for the seeker of legend. She was soon becoming disheartened, maybe the rumors were false and he hadn't really come after all. Her outlook soon changed when they came upon a small farming village; at first nothing seemed at all different from the last few towns and villages they had visited, the soldiers rounded up the women and killed any man who got in their way. Xiu had quickly come to realize that the women were sent to the palace so that the Warlord could have his way with them and she always sent up prayers for those taken, the Warlord was not a kind or gentle man and most women didn't survive his idea of pleasure.

Xiu had closed her eyes in an attempt to block out what was going on around her but was roused when the horse she was attached to started to move it would seem that one of the villagers was making a run for it and she let out a sad sigh in her mind. She had seen this before; someone would try to escape only to be run down by the soldier's warhorses. However as they cut the young man off she took more notice of him, he was cleaner than the common villager and the staff he carried bared a striking resemblance to the Monkey Kings own weapon. Xiu felt her heart stop as she realized that the man's staff and the Monkey Kings were one in the same and that he was the seeker of prophesy, and then her stomach dropped. He would be killed here and her lover's one chance at freedom would be gone forever.

Just as they were about to take his staff and his life one of the men was pulled from his horse by a strange man who appeared to be drunk. A fight ensued and she watched with bated breath as the drunken man took out each of the soldiers without seemingly breaking a sweat. After the last warrior had fallen the stranger turned his attention to the seeker and more importantly the staff he carried.

The drunk started to speak only to be cut off.

"I don't know what you're saying," and so the stranger started again only to be interrupted a second time, "I can't understand you!"

At this point the older man seemed fed up with the others interruptions, "that's because you're not listening!"

The boy looked like he was in a state of shock only to snap out of it in time to point out a lone soldier who was coming up behind the drunk, the man easily kicked him away and they took off on the donkey he had previously been riding. Xiu started panicking and frantically flapping her wings as they got farther and farther away, she had just found the key to the Monkey Kings release and now it was getting away. She continued to thrash in her cage until suddenly the door swung open, she had been struggling so much that she had knocked the latch loose.

Instantly she took off flying after the two men, she would stay with them as long as possible and try to insure the seekers safe travel to the Five Elements Mountain. The two of them eventually stopped at a drink house and Xiu was all too happy to land on the railing next to the staff to rest. Lucky for her most of the patrons were drunk and so didn't question her being there like they normally would. She listened as the seeker shared how lost he was and the drunk introduced himself as Lu Yan. The seeker seemed amused when Lu addressed him as a monk and revealed that he was in fact not a monk and that his name was Jason Tripitikas. He supposedly hailed from a place known as South Boston, a far off land that she had never heard of, off handedly she wondered if her lover had ever ventured there during his many journeys and if the two of them might travel there together once he was freed.

Xiu continued to ponder what all they would do together as Lu Yan told Jason the legend of the Monkey King. She smiled as he told of the monkey kings power and how he crashed into the banquet, she could still picture the War Lords face as the Monkey King played in the peach tree and taunted the lord without reprimand. Unfortunately she could also remember the duel that resulted and how her lover was tricked and consequently beaten. She had been forced to watch the entire thing from the sidelines and was held back by the lord's soldiers when she tried to save the Monkey King. After she was transformed into a bird she would spend as much time as she could sitting on his stone shoulder, she wouldn't make a sound but instead close her eyes and try to imagine that he was flesh and bones and that they were simply resting together on a calm day. She was always cruelly pulled from her dreams by the warlord when he saw fit to put her back in her cage, she knew he purposefully let her out so as to remind her of her hopelessness but she could never bring herself to pass up a chance to see the Monkey King.

Xiu was drawn from her musings when Jason stated arguing against rescuing her lost lover, his refusal to fulfill the prophecy made her heart despair and she could only hope Lu could convince him otherwise. However Lu seemed more intent on getting Jason to pick up the tab for his drinks and she watched as he put down some strange sort of paper down instead of actual money. Then she could only watch as the confused owner showed first his wife then two passing soldiers the strange new thing Jason had used to pay and she knew in an instant that trouble was about to irrupt.

As the two soldiers approached the table Lu questioned Jason on his kung-fu when the boy didn't answer fast enough Lu seemed to assume he was a master.

"He who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak. Surely you are masterful." Judging by the panicked look on Jason's face that couldn't be farther from the truth and before Jason could correct Lu's statement the solider were already upon them. The soldiers confronted the pair about the staff and Lu tried to play it off as a fake but the soldiers didn't seemed fooled they pushed their way passed him and demanded Jason hand over the staff, when he failed to comply they reached for their weapons and in a panic Jason threw the staff the Lu.

From there a fight broke out and Xiu could only watch as Lu fought around Jason, occasionally even using Jason's body as a weapon. However soon the number of soldiers became too much and they were forced to flee she watched as Lu used the roof top to escape she was just coming up behind Jason when suddenly two small blades went flying passed her and into the throats while the boy in question lost his grip and fell off the third story. She was relieved to see that he seemed uninjured from the fall and finally took notice of the young woman around Jason's age that had just joined them, Xiu assumed she was the one who had thrown the blades and hoped that this newcomer was a friend; they could use more fighters who knew what they were doing. She waited until Jason and Lu mounted the two horses next to Golden Sparrow before coming to land on Jason's shoulder, it seemed like he was going to brush her off when suddenly the horse took off after the other two and he was forced to leave her so he could grab hold of the reins. The three were forced to change directions twice by attacking soldiers before leading the soldiers on a mad chase through a pleasure house and then losing them in a bamboo forest.

By the time they were a safe distance away and sure no one was following them Jason seemed to have forgotten Xiu was perched upon his shoulder and she was content to stay where she was, the nights excitement had all but drained her energy. And so she nestled down for a nap comforted by the warmth Jason provided and the knowledge she was one step closer to getting her lover back.

And so ends the second chapter. Sorry if anything didn't make sense but I tried to follow the story line while still adding in my own bits. Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed my story.

**To Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967: **I'm glad you've liked the story so far I hope you continue to enjoy it.

Thanks to everyone who had read this story so far, _**PLEASE REVIEW**_ I want to know what you think about the characters and what you think should happen next. You all rock and I love each and every one of you!  
-Ambercat999


	3. Fly Me Up on a Silver Wing

Chapter 3: Fly Me Up on a Sliver Wing

Unfortunately for Xiu her nap couldn't last forever, while Jason had forgotten that he had a small bird sitting on his shoulder Lu was quick to notice Jason's hitch hiker.

"Jason, it would seem you have made a new friend."

Jason looked down and upon noticing the small bird nestled on his shoulder moved to shoo the tiny creature away. However before he could come close to touching it he was stopped, Golden Sparrow gripped his wrist firmly before dragging it back down to his side.

"She thinks you must be stupid for you would not have acted so foolishly, that is a chickadee, only a _fool_ would harm one."

"It's just a bird, there's tons of them and besides it wasn't like I was gonna kill it, just brush it off my shoulder."

Golden Sparrow scoffed as if she couldn't believe his ignorance, "they are sacred beings and are protected by heavens mandate."

Seeing the lack of understanding in Jason's eyes the girl shook her head before pulling on her horse's reigns and falling to the back of the group again. Regrettably Xiu had been jostled awake when Golden Sparrow had caught Jason's wrist and she was now wide awake, she contemplated moving from her current perch but decided against it. She didn't know where the trio was headed and she didn't want to risk losing them during the night.

They rode well into the morning in silence before Jason finally spoke up, "You really saved our lives back there. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come along."

It was obvious he was trying to pretend like the previous incident hadn't occurred. Sparrow was a beautiful young woman and Jason was obviously aware of that fact, alas she wasn't as interested in him as he was in her.

"She does not think the Drunken Immortal needed his life saved."

This took Xiu by surprise; the girl had to be kidding. Lu was a master at martial arts but his skills were nowhere near that of an immortals, she ruffled her feathers at the thought. It took years of hard work and dedication to become an immortal and a drunkard would never be able to reach the caliber needed, Lu was a nice man and she liked him but she laughed at the thought of him being on par with her lover or the Jade Warlord.

Jason however didn't seem to realize that though, "You're immortal?"

Xiu waited with bated breath for Lu to reply, she was completely prepared to peck his eye out should he lie about his mortality. When he decided to change the topic instead she scoffed, he didn't confirm what he was, but he didn't deny it either.

"What do you run from child?"

"Bounty hunter trying to stop her from reaching the Five Elements Mountain."

Lu stopped his horse upon hearing this and Xiu knew what he was up to immediately, Lu wasn't nearly as brave or heroic as Jason seemed to believe he was and the older man was about to disillusion him. She could only watch as the man tried to pass Jason off to Golden Sparrow and pray that this didn't break his spirit.

Jason however surprised her when he jumped off his horse to keep Lu from leaving, she couldn't contain the rather undignified squawk that left her beak when she was all but thrown from his shoulder at the sudden movement and just barley caught herself before she hit the ground. She flew around their group a few times before finally settling on Sparrows shoulder, the young girl seemed to hold a deep respect for her kind and Xiu figured she would be her safest bet.

She watched as Lu left and she felt the urge to hug Jason when he asked Lu to teach him kung-fu, it was obvious the boy didn't know the first thing about martial arts but the fact that he wanted to learn endeared him to her. He was doing everything in his power to return her lovers staff to its rightful owner and for that she was eternally grateful.

The next two days were monotonous and the group seemed to form a routine of sorts, Jason would spend most of his day clearing the path for them with a bamboo stick while Lu shouted contradictory training statements like 'swing soft, cut hard at same time' and Golden Sparrow watched on. Xiu would alternate between perching on the girls shoulder and flying above the group looking for any danger. She had to admit that it was nice to be free even if she felt alone; the group was nice and she enjoyed their company, especially the two younger ones, however the familiar gap in her heart that longed for her beloved was always there nagging at her. She would never truly be happy until he was free and back in her arms.

She fell asleep on the third night listening to Sparrow play her pipa, the young girl was a talented musician and she found it a shame that she was so filled with hatred, the Jade Warlords seemed to taint everything he came in contact with.

That night she was plagued by nightmares, or more specifically the Jade Warlords magic. In her dream she is back in the palace trapped in a cage sat upon the warlord's throne as he inspected several women lined before him, probably taken from the newest villages his army plundered looking for the staff. She cringed at the thought of what would happen to them should they catch his interest. Luckily or maybe not, one of the guards burst into the throne room, successfully interrupting him.

"How dare you… can't you see I am busy?"

"The divine staff of legend… It was seen in the Middle Kingdom…"

Xiu immediately started in her cage flapping her wings in a desperate attempt to escape; she needed to warn Jason and the others that the Warlord knew of their existence. She had to protect them so that they could rescue the Monkey King.

"Impossible."

"The villagers are beginning to whisper of prophecy-"

"The villagers are always whispering about prophecy, it's their opium. What other offending news do you have for me?"

"We have lost your chickadee my lord; she escaped during a fight… that is all, My Lord."

Xiu watched as the Warlord impaled his soldier with his own sword and tried to bring herself to feel sorry for the man. He had given away Jason's existence but at the same time he had only been following orders, in the end she didn't feel two distraught.

"Summon the witch…the one born of wolves."

Upon giving his orders the Jade Warlord turned and slowly approached Xiu's cage. She pressed herself against the far wall and tried to make herself as small as possible as if she could somehow hide herself from him.

"So, you have escaped have you little one. You are with the staff bearer of legend no doubt, no matter soon he will be dead and you will be back in your cage where you belong," he turned to one of the guards stationed around the perimeter of the room, "take her back to her cage."

Immediately her smaller cage was picked up and she was carried down to where the Monkey King's statue was, the Warlord was a cruel man who found great pleasure in her torment and so he had her cage built directly opposite her beloved. Every day she was made to stare at his statue and long for his embrace. She spent the rest of the night staring forlornly at him waiting for her body to finally wake and free her from the nightmare she had been trapped in.

By the time she awoke it was well into the morning, and she and Jason were alone. Straightaway she could feel something was off and as she flew up to get a better look around she realized what had set off her instincts; up the hill from them was a figure dressed in white sat watching them. Strangely it wasn't his presence that bothered her but his intense stare and she wondered who he could be. She flew after Jason when he took off and could only look on as the man over took him and stole the staff, Xiu was torn between staying with Jason and following the staff but her need to protect the staff quickly won out.

She followed the thief all the way to a temple in the side of the mountain. She was prepared for him to shoo her away or even attempt to harm her but was surprised when instead he put out his finger for her to land on. She was hesitant at first but when she felt no ill will coming from him she finally landed, he stroked her back with a gentle touch and for some reason it felt familiar. Almost against her will she relaxed, she wasn't completely sure why he had stolen the staff but she had a feeling that his intentions weren't malicious.

Unfortunately, Lu and the others were only human and so lacked the instincts that she had. When Lu demanded the staff back and the stranger silently, he took it as a challenge and attacked. She was forced from her finger and had to watch as the two fought, multiple times she tried to intervene in some way only to have to pull back when one of them almost hit her. However she was so focus on their fight that she forgot to pay attention to the staff it wasn't until it flew half way through the pillar she was hovering next to and struck her in the side that she remembered its existence. Disoriented she fell to the ground and as she lay there trying to catch her breath she could only pray that neither of the monks stepped on her accidentally.

She could have cried in relief when the staff finally flew out of their grasp and into Jason's, without the object to fight over both men stopped.

"You tried to steal the staff for the Warlord."

"No, fool! I'm on a mission to find the seeker of the staff."

That statement put to rest any lingering mistrust Xiu might have felt about the man in white, if he was trying to find the seeker of the staff he was trying to help her lover, that immediately put him in her good graces.

"You found him."

"He's not even Chinese."

"We are all the same inside, aren't we Monk? Heaven help us."

Lu was about to take a sip of his wine when the monk stopped him.

"What, you find it a sin?"

"Yes, it is sinful not to share, cheers."

The two men seemed to come to an understanding as the monk drank some of Lu's wine and Xiu couldn't help but feel as if their chances of success were drastically increased with the addition of the monk to their party. Soon they set out again and Xiu made sure to perch herself on the monks shoulder, he seemed familiar to her and she found comfort in his presence.

"How long have you been searching of the staff?"

"As long as I can remember, how long has Xiu been with you?"

Xiu couldn't help but start at the use of her name, while her existence wasn't a secret many storytellers overlooked her when they were telling the myth of the Monkey King and soon her role in the story was forgotten all together.

"Who is Xiu?"

The monk looked at Jason like he was insane before looking down at her.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that the bird is Xiu?"

"Yes, don't you know who she is? I had assumed that since you carried the staff of the Monkey King you knew who she was, is this not so?"

"No, that's just some bird that decided to follow us, it is just some bird right?"

The monk scoffed in disbelief, "She is Xiu Ya Chen, the Monkey King's and the Jade Warlord's prisoner. It is said that she was once a beautiful woman and that she was turned into a chickadee by the Jade Warlord when she refused to become his bride."

Xiu shifted uncomfortably as the other three stared at her in awe, she wasn't sure if she was happy about them learning about who she truly was. Part of her was glad that she was finally more than just some bird to them while another part of her worried that they would reject her for being who she was.

Luckily they didn't seem to care that much about her true identity. Jason seemed to think it was cool that she was a human turned bird and asked her multiple yes or no questions just to see her respond by shaking her head, apparently in his land magic didn't exist and so her predicament fascinated him. She was almost glad when they decided it was time to stop so that Lu could start to teach Jason kung-fu. She took great pleasure watching the Lu and then the Monk take turns trying to teach Jason while the poor boy watched on in utter befuddlement. She knew she should feel bad for him as the two masters delivered blow after blow while arguing with each other but she found that after having to put up with his incessant questioning it was more humorous to her than anything.

She found that as the days past and Xiu watched Jason get better she couldn't help but feel a great sense of pride swell within her, she felt like a proud mother watching her only son accomplish something extraordinary. She had no doubt that he would free the Monkey King and in turn return her to her original form, and on that day she knew that he would be the second person she hugged, right after the Monkey King.

So I finally got back into writing Fanfiction. I started my first year of college and I haven't found any time to write until now. Thanks to everyone who followed/favorited my story.

**To Lyric Dreams**: Thank you for letting me know about that little mess up! Hope you read and enjoyed the actual second chapter!

**To 88dragon06**: Hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as the other ones!

**To Manon**: Thank you very much for the great ideas, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and continue to read my story :D

**To SamanthaJane13**: Sorry it took so long to update, hope you enjoyed this last chapter

I would like to thank everyone who has read my story up to this point and say that YOU RULE! I'd greatly appreciate it if you would _**REVIEW**_my story; I'm always looking for new ideas and would love to hear your opinion. Thanks again for reading!  
-Ambercat999


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